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A ‘worrying confluence’ of flood risk, social vulnerability and climate change denial
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Darker areas in this map show where a confluence of flood risk and climate change skepticism is making communities particularly vulnerable to flooding. Image credit: Used under a CC BY 4.0 license from Gounaridis, D., Waweru, W. and Newell, J.P. Environ. Res. Lett. (2024) DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ad801a
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According to a new University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) study, in parts of the United States, especially Appalachia, New England and the Northwest, residents' ability to prepare for and respond to flooding is being undercut by three factors. The first is that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has underestimated the flooding risks in many counties; the second is social vulnerability, such as low income and mobility limitations that can hamper the ability of individuals to take preventative and recovery measures; and the last is that, in certain communities, there exists pervasive climate change skepticism.
The study's senior author is SEAS Professor Joshua Newell, and Dimitrios Gounaridis, SEAS research specialist and lecturer, is a co-author. The other co-author is Wanja Waweru, who worked on the project while earning her master’s degree at U-M.
Read the full press release on the Michigan News website.